The majority of the world’s population now live in urban areas. That point was reached in 2008, according to official UN statistics, as the continuing migration from the countryside and population growth within metropolitan areas have combined to change the way the majority of the world’s citizens live. 3.3 billion of us now live in urban areas.
In 1950 there was just one city of over 10m people – New York. Now there are... continue

Plans for strategic rail network development in London and Paris tell a tale of two cities facing similar challenges. Both have realised that radial rail transport terminating at central locations means massive numbers of passengers overloading local distributor networks of buses or existing underground metros. And both have realised that many travellers are actually trying to get from one side of the city to the other, and don’t want to... continue

Despite having historically one of the most comprehensive of the world’s urban and commuter rail systems, London has been playing catch up to Paris, and indeed other cities with S-Bahn-type railways, on its rail... continue

Though Paris and London have attracted attention by developing their regional heavy rail networks to supplement existing tube/metro lines through new cross-city tunnels, they are not the only cities who have taken their city... continue

Biting the bullet on expensive, transformational, railway schemes is something that mainland European governments have been good at, as exemplified by the development of national high speed rail networks in various... continue

D espite having historically one of the most comprehensive of the world’s urban and commuter rail systems, London has been playing catch up to Paris, and indeed other cities with S-Bahn-type railways, on its rail... continue

Delivering major city rail schemes is so expensive, complicated and integral to city economies that it is hard to believe that a purely private sector approach to finance could ever deliver them, even in an era of shrinking... continue

According to National Rail’s Journey Planner, a simple trip in the Greater London area from Watford Junction to Woking requires two mainline trains and an Underground ride. First, there is a Midland Mainline (or London... continue

From popular media and political comment, it sometimes seems that fare levels are a really critical issue for public transport, but in fact the role of detailed pricing policies and the wider funding equation are arguably... continue

T ravellers were once tempted by the simple pleasures of their journey: a time to reflect, relax and simply stare out the window. Or they just tolerated the ‘wasted’ time.
How things have changed! Nowadays, the... continue